Director John J. Budion, who made his initial mark in the industry as a Flame artist, has joined production/post house Humble.
Budion has been hands-on involved in assorted jobs which he has seen through from pre-pro through post, a prime example being the E*Trade “Talking Baby” campaign spots he directed for Grey New York.
Handling the live action and post via his prior roost Click 3X, Budion completed seven E*Trade spots that aired before, during and after the Super Bowl, earning him a shortlist honor at the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival as well as helping him to gain inclusion into the 2010 SHOOT New Directors Showcase. His E*Trade commercial “Lottery” was screened during the New Directors Showcase event this past May at the Directors Guild of America (DGA) Theatre in New York.
Budion started his industry career at the age of 17. While working towards his degree at NYU, he interned at a N.Y. post house and moved up the ladder to junior and then full fledged Flame artist. His post shop affiliations over the years included Charlex, Rhinofx (now Gravity), and Click 3X where he served as both a director and Flame artist.
Upon being selected for SHOOT‘s New Directors Showcase earlier this year, Budion said that his endeavors in post and VFX on-set supervision “proved to be invaluable experience as I was consulting with directors and learning a lot from them.” He then diversified into the production side and when coupled with his post acumen, opportunities opened up for him to direct.
Budion’s credits also include directing a feature-length play one summer for the New York Fringe Festival. The play received positive reviews and won the festival’s Audience Choice Award.
Oscar Nominees Delve Into The Art Of Editing At ACE Session
You couldn’t miss Sean Baker at this past Sunday’s Oscar ceremony where he won for Best Picture, Directing, Original Screenplay and Editing on the strength of Anora. However, earlier that weekend he was in transit from the Cesar Awards in Paris and thus couldn’t attend the American Cinema Editors (ACE) 25th annual panel of Academy Award-nominated film editors held at the Regal LA Live Auditorium on Saturday (3/1) in Los Angeles. While the eventual Oscar winner in the editing category was missed by those who turned out for the ACE “Invisible Art, Visible Artists” session, three of Baker’s fellow nominees were on hand--Dávid Jancsó, HSE for The Brutalist; Nick Emerson for Conclave; and Myron Kerstein, ACE for Wicked. Additionally, Juliette Welfling, who couldn’t appear in person due to the Cesar Awards, was present via an earlier recorded video interview to discuss her work on Emilia Pérez. The interview was conducted by ACE president and editor Sabrina Plisco, ACE who also moderated the live panel discussion. Kerstein said that he was the beneficiary of brilliant and generous collaborators, citing, among others, director Jon M. Chu, cinematographer Alice Brooks, and visual effects supervisor Pablo Helman. The editor added it always helps to have stellar acting performances, noting that hearing Cynthia Erivo, for example, sing live was a revelation. Kerstein recalled meeting Chu some eight years ago on a “blind Skype date” and it was an instant “bromance”--which began on Crazy Rich Asians, and then continued on such projects as the streaming series Home Before Dark and the feature In The Heights. Kerstein observed that Chu is expert in providing collaborators with... Read More